The effects of 25, 50, or 75 mg/kg
chlordecone on vaginal and behavioral estrus were examined following treatment of intact rats during estrus, diestrus 1, or diestrus 2.
Chlordecone accelerated vaginal estrus, but sexual behavior was eliminated, delayed, or reduced.
Chlordecone treatment led to the presence of vaginal estrus within 2 days, but reduced or eliminated sexual behavior on the evening of predicted proestrus. Of the females that received
chlordecone, 20% to 50% showed some behavior on the day after the evening of predicted proestrus and 20% to 35% never showed behavior during the 8-day observation period. Although the
lordosis to mount ratio was still reduced, the occurrence of behavior a day late suggested that the
pesticide had delayed behavioral estrus.
Chlordecone also rapidly suppressed food intake and led to a significant decline in
body weight; these nutritional factors could have contributed to the disrupted estrous cycle. Some support for this possibility was derived from a reduced sexual receptivity on the evening of proestrus when the caloric intake of untreated female rats was matched to that of the
chlordecone treated animals. However, the effects of caloric reduction on proestrous
lordosis behavior were less robust than seen following
chlordecone.
Chlordecone treatment on diestrus 2 reduced the number of
progesterone receptors in uterine tissue of females on the predicted day of proestrus. This suggested that the tissue sensitivity to circulating levels of
progesterone would be reduced within 2 days after
chlordecone treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)